How to Print From Anywhere in Your Home

Last Updated on August 14, 2023 by Christian Ralph

Networking a printer at home used to involve a tedious and complicated installation process. Now, cloud printing technology allows you to send print jobs from anywhere to a printer that is connected to the ‘cloud’ and the good news is, it’s really easy to set up.

Here we look at how you can use cloud printing to its full capabilities.

Introducing Google Cloud Print

Google Cloud Print lets you send your documents or pictures to your printer from any location. This might be your bedroom, the living room, your place of work or even half way across the world. You could, for example, send a print job from the office to your home printer, so that your letter or document is waiting for you when you get home.

Google Cloud Print also lets you print web pages and other types of documents to PDF to be saved in your Google Drive for later retrieval. This can be useful for synching up documents that you need to access frequently on your various devices – your iPad, laptop, work computer and so on.

Setting up Google Cloud Print

To use Google Cloud Print, you’ll need to have a Google account and have Chrome installed, and you’ll need a computer connected to the internet which has your printer connected to it. Cloud printing works with pretty much any type of printer, although the set up is different depending on its capabilities.

A lot of newer printers have internet connectivity as a feature so it’s really easy to get started – you’ll just need to follow the simple steps for your particular printer, which usually involve just a couple of clicks. Visit Google’s page for setting up cloud-enabled printers here.

For traditional printers that don’t have internet connectivity as a feature, you’ll still be able to use cloud print as long as your printer is connected to a laptop or computer that is connected to the internet. Simply:

1. Open up Chrome and ensure you’re logged into your Google account
2. Click the Chrome Menu button in the top right hand corner of the browser and select ‘Settings’ from the drop down list.
3. Scroll down and choose the ‘Show Advanced Settings’ link right at the bottom.
4. Scroll down to the Google Cloud Print section and click ‘Manage’.
5. On the next page under ‘Classic Printers’ select ‘Add Printers’.

Google will automatically detect any printers that are installed that can be added to the cloud. Simply select the printers you want to add and click ‘Add Printers’ – and that’s it! You’ll see a confirmation message to say that your printers are now registered with Google Cloud Print.

Now you’ve got cloud print working, it’s a good idea to test out your new set up:

1. Click on the Chrome Menu button in the top right hand corner again and choose ‘Print’.
2. Under ‘Destination’ click the ‘Change’ button. You’ll now see the Google Cloud Print options at the bottom.
3. Select one of the options and check that the web page prints okay.

Using Google Cloud Print and Devices

By now, you’ve probably figured out that Google Cloud Print is incredibly useful for a whole host of applications. You can quickly network a printer in your house, access your printer from work or on-the-go, and send documents to printers hundreds or thousands of miles away, in just a couple of clicks. If you’ve ever felt frustrated after landing on a page that you need to print when you’re on the wrong device, you’ll quickly understand how useful this technology is.

Another incredible feature of Google Cloud Print is the ability to use a multitude of devices to send print commands. This means you can browse the web and buy tickets, make bookings or send information using your smartphone, without having to worry that you haven’t got a printer attached when you get to the confirmation page.

If you’ve got an Android phone, there’s a dedicated Google Cloud Print app, and the technology works with a number of third party apps too including PrinterShare™ Mobile Print, Easy Print, Cloud Printer (a Mozilla Firefox mobile add-on), Fiabee and PrintJinni™. If you’re using an iOS device such as an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you can send commands to Google Cloud Print using the PrintCentral app. In fact, any mobile device can make use of Google Cloud Print using Google Mobile Apps. Users of Kodak’s All-in-one printers can also use cloud printing via Kodak
Email Print.

For Macs, the Cloud Printer app gets you connected, and on Windows PCs, you can use Paperless Printer or Cloud Print for Windows.

To Conclude:

Cloud printing allows you to connect all of your devices, so there’s no need for saving a document to one device, dragging it into Dropbox, retrieving it from Dropbox and opening it up in another computer to be able to print – it’s a simple case of, ‘I want to print this’ – click – and done. The cloud print technology lets you print right from whatever device you’re on, wherever you are in the world, to the printer of your choice. If you’re looking for a new printer, pick a cloud-ready device for fast, easy setup and instant access to Google’s amazing cloud printing facility.

For a full range of printers and consumables, visit the Printerland homepage or call our dedicated team on 0800 840 1992.